The Jurassic World resort was painstakingly put together by veteran production designer Edward Verreaux, who has worked on various Steven Spielberg-produced films since the first Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. Verreaux told Yahoo Movies this week that, when planning Jurassic World, he and his team cast a global net for inspiration.

Originally called Jazzland, the summer destination closed in 2002 due to financial woes; Six Flags soon swept in to buy the place, but Katrina helped shut it down for good just three years later. The park’s destiny appeared set—a playground for trespassing gators, bayou greenery and Reddit fodder. And then the movie industry happened.

Related parks

RCMAC

Monday, June 15, 2015 11:27 AM

We saw J.W. yesterday, in 3D. It was everything you might expect, and that was part of the problem as far as I was concerned. I'm afraid the franchise, in spite of this edition's fantastic effects and grand design, has lost some luster. Which, now that I think about it, was a main part of the story. A genetically modified killer attraction was developed to boost flagging theme park attendance. Hmmmm...

Anyway, there's plenty to make amusement park fans like us nod and chuckle in delight. The midway could've been City Walk, the buildings could've been (and are) straight out of Universal. There's a sea stadium with splash zone, mile long queues, a huge glass covered escalator, wrist bands for FOL access, innovative rides, and bored ride ops.

The show was filled with more product placement than I've ever seen. Chris Pratt was easy on the eyes and Bryce Dallas Howard, as the park executive that learns a valuable lesson, has a hairdo that will make us howl ten years from now.

At least this summer blockbuster was better than that laugh-out-loud crapfest San Andreas...

Lord Gonchar

RCMAC

Jeff

Monday, June 15, 2015 1:25 PM

I loved the movie... I thought it really honored the spirit of the first one, but it was also very self-aware in its need to be a blockbuster. The whole story line about having to make a bigger, better dinosaur was a blatant critique of the studio film system. Oh, and I thought the redheaded Cleopatra 'do was hot. Not that I have an obvious thing for redheads or anything.

LostKause

Tuesday, June 16, 2015 11:05 PM

Many of my friends encourage me to give my opinions of movies on Facebook, because I used to write movie reviews for a weekly newspaper. I think it's kind of silly, and I don't write in the same style as I did in the newspaper, so keep that in mind when you read this...

Jurassic World! WOW! Chris Pratt is the next Harrison Ford! Bryce Dallas Howard is on her way to leading lady material. Ty Simpkins showed that he can really act, and he is getting good at playing everyone's little brother.

And then there is the story, and the special effects, and the interesting twists. And those close-call scares. They all made for a near-perfect movie experience.

And it was much different than the previous three Jurassic movies. It had more intense action, and so many death scenes. The stakes were higher. The plot had a lot of weight. And so many freekin' dinosaurs!

Was this better than the first one? You bet! There were a few scenes that could have been considered a little silly to those who have trouble suspending disbelief, but I just went with it. Hollywood has really gotten good at making movies over the years. They know exactly how to wow the crowds, and Jurassic World is a great example of that. I'm surprised that Rotten Tomatoes currently has Jurassic World at only 70%. I would have expected it to be around 90%.